The invention relates generally to a roller guide.
More particularly, the invention relates to a roller guide for use in a continuous casting installation, especially an installation for the continuous casting of steel.
A conventional roller guide used in installations for the continuous casting of steel has two oppositely disposed rows of guide rollers. The rollers cooperate to define a path for a continuously cast steel strand or ingot issuing from a mold. Some of the guide rollers are driven in order to advance the strand while the remaining rollers are non-driven or idler rollers.
The roller guide is divided into segments. Each segment includes a fixed guide member made up of a carrier or beam which supports a plurality of rollers of one of the rows. The carrier of the fixed guide member is secured to a base frame or support. The fixed guide member of each segment is provided with a plurality of columns which engage a movable guide member constituting part of the respective segment. The movable guide member is made up of a carrier or beam which supports a plurality of rollers of the row opposite that supported by the fixed carriers.
The fixed and movable guide members of each segment are connected by a plurality of tie rods. A spring reacts against each tie rod and against the associated movable guide member so as to urge the latter against the columns of the corresponding fixed guide member. The movable guide member is arranged to be displaced away from the strand and away from the respective fixed guide member against the action of the corresponding springs. A piston-and-cylinder unit is associated with each tie rod and is designed to oppose the stress which is generated in the tie rod by the respective spring.
A roller guide of the type outlined above is disclosed in the West German Offenlegungsschrift No. 29 42 144. Here, the piston-and-cylinder units which oppose the springs are mounted on the fixed guide members beneath the end faces of the tie rods. The sides of the movable guide members are provided with lugs which carry special lifting units or cylinders for displacing the movable guide members away from the strand or away from the fixed guide members, e.g. when a cold strand is to be removed from the roller guide or when the thickness of the strand is to be changed. The fixed guide members are secured to the base frame by special, hand-operated connecting elements.